Somehow we managed to get our entries in early enough to get a start at this years Tour of Bright. It'll be our first time down there, and there isn't much info on the website, and what there is seems pretty out-of-date. So I've got a couple of questions for anyone who might have been there before.

We don't have any kind of a support crew, and I was wondering how riders generally get back to Bright at the end of the stage. Stage 1 ends up on Towonga Gap, and I guess it's not too far from there back to Bright, so we just ride back I guess. But Stage 3 is all the way through Harrietville and up Mt Hotham- 60kms or so. I know it's downhill coming back (assuming I actually make it to the top..... ) but 60k is still a fair way. I don't suppose they put on a shuttle bus for riders and bikes ??

On the first stage, which I think is 90km or so, is there a feed zone ? Not that I have anyone to hand me anything...... but I'm thinking that if its warm I'll get through more than two drink bottles of fluid........

Nitram wrote:Somehow we managed to get our entries in early enough to get a start at this years Tour of Bright. It'll be our first time down there, and there isn't much info on the website, and what there is seems pretty out-of-date. So I've got a couple of questions for anyone who might have been there before.

We don't have any kind of a support crew, and I was wondering how riders generally get back to Bright at the end of the stage. Stage 1 ends up on Towonga Gap, and I guess it's not too far from there back to Bright, so we just ride back I guess. But Stage 3 is all the way through Harrietville and up Mt Hotham- 60kms or so. I know it's downhill coming back (assuming I actually make it to the top..... ) but 60k is still a fair way. I don't suppose they put on a shuttle bus for riders and bikes ??

Everyone just rides back.

Most people stop in harrietville and have a coffee etc and laze around before slowly creeping back down to Bright.

Nitram wrote:On the first stage, which I think is 90km or so, is there a feed zone ? Not that I have anyone to hand me anything...... but I'm thinking that if its warm I'll get through more than two drink bottles of fluid.

Stage 1 feed zone is at Tawonga with 12km to go, after the sprint and shortly before the Tawonga Gap climb. There'll be water available. Have a look at the maps, feed zones are marked.

I'm down to race in C grade and my recent training hasn't been what I had planned. Uni exams, family holiday in QLD, couple of days with a cold have limited my riding in November when I really wanted to work on my speed after racking up good Kms in Sept and Oct. My question is am I going to be competitive enough to race in or near the front for the road stages. I don't want to drive from Sydney and pay for 2/3 nights accommodation and only to get dropped from the pack on each stage.

I have no idea what to expect from the other C graders having never raced an open before. In regards to my form I did the ACE250 in Jan and did Hotham in 1h36m (92nd on Strava) riding pretty steadily to do the remaining 200kms so feel I would go faster this time around. More recently I did Robbie McEwens Grand Fondo and finished with a total time ranked on Strava as 31st. Sep/Oct spent alot of time doing ~3hours rides in the RNP and currently feel i'm around a similar level to what I was in Jan, bit faster with less endurance though. Any honest opinions to my chances would be appreciated.

kosh wrote:

Nitram wrote:On the first stage, which I think is 90km or so, is there a feed zone ? Not that I have anyone to hand me anything...... but I'm thinking that if its warm I'll get through more than two drink bottles of fluid.

Stage 1 feed zone is at Tawonga with 12km to go, after the sprint and shortly before the Tawonga Gap climb. There'll be water available. Have a look at the maps, feed zones are marked.

Does that mean I'll be able to grab a bidon on water off a vollie or something at the feed zone if I've got no support?

Most if not all of them would be club level A graders, that's the nature of ToB. The ToB handicappers don't check gradings, they just accept whatever riders submit.Several A grade local names there I recognise too.

Neutral feed: Last year it was volunteers on the left side of the road handing up bidons of water just before the Tawonga climb (near the pub), as per kosh's post. I just put one of my empty bidons into my jersey and took a fresh one.Food for thought - you've seen what can happen in feed zones in pro races ? What do you think will happen when the C grade bunch hits the feed zone ? You probably want to position yourself in anticipation...

In response to number21: ToB course/organisation/vibe is awesome. If you have an entry but choose not to go....... you'll be kicking yourself. It makes no sense to compare ACE / Gran Fondo times to a shorter, more intense road race. There will be plenty of people dropped - maybe even you - who cares ? Get in with the grupetto and enjoy the ride.

Yeah I decided to not let the opportunity go by and booked some accommodation yesterday ($85 for a room compared to the $45 for an unpowered camp site in Jan!!). Feeling quite pumped and excited about it now, so thanks all for the positive vibes. Shall remember "stage 1- ~80kms- stick to the left".

Yeah I decided to not let the opportunity go by and booked some accommodation yesterday ($85 for a room compared to the $45 for an unpowered camp site in Jan!!). Feeling quite pumped and excited about it now, so thanks all for the positive vibes. Shall remember "stage 1- ~80kms- stick to the left".

Will be good to be amongst all the bikes and lyrca in Bright again!

woot!

if you haven't trained specifically then just finishing will be the goal, and like the Warny there's nothing to feel but pride in that! Being more of a natural sprinter that's MY goal too, I will be looking for gruppeto buddies to work after Rosewhite in particular

Just a quick note about ToB. So glad I went, had such a great time. Finished mid pack, avoided the big stack 6.5kms into stage 1(just) so I took that as a positive sign, weather was perfect, great roads. Learnt a lot about racing, lots of seriously good riders down there. Hopefully can get an entry next year and try to improve.

Hope all the others on here had a good time also and for those in C grade missed the neutral zone crit pile up!

number21 wrote:Just a quick note about ToB. So glad I went, had such a great time. Finished mid pack, avoided the big stack 6.5kms into stage 1(just) so I took that as a positive sign, weather was perfect, great roads. Learnt a lot about racing, lots of seriously good riders down there. Hopefully can get an entry next year and try to improve.

Hope all the others on here had a good time also and for those in C grade missed the neutral zone crit pile up!

Nice to hear. I was the ACT Vikings rider somersaulting through the air in that c grade stack Pretty disappointed with it. Was hoping to go top 20 on the gc. Luckily i just lost skin, and was bruised but somehow my bones held together! Managed to snap my seat off, slightly buckle the wheels, smash my quarq, bend my rear derailler hanger, destroy some cables and shatter my helmet...

I kept racing since I had my TT bike there. TT went ok, not ideal, but gave it what I had left. With some help we patched up my bike using bits from the TT rig, and a few borrowed pieces.

Sunday I felt pretty good, a little stiff and sore, but once I warmed up was ok. Decided I wasn't going to sit in, so counter attacked on the first pinch out of town, and went on a solo break for 8k or so and took the first sprint point. Though since I was out of gc, it didn't count, but it was a bit of fun. Stayed near the front for the next sprint point at harrietville, wasted a bit of energy and got caught a little short when the road went up. Missed the front pack, so had to work my way back once I got to the false flat. Was pretty happy with how I finished the climb, managed to get just outside the top 20.

Plenty of lessons learned, would like to try to get back next year. Need to support my mates who got automatic invites, and pursue personal glory as well of course Despite the crash, it was a really fun weekend.

Well the bike could of been worse I guess, oh well. Least there were no medical bills.

As for the grading, its certainly a much debated topic!

Because C grade is the lowest grade you got a real mix of people. This is my first season road racing, but have done the last couple of local races in B grade here in Canberra. Im generally in the top 5 depending on the course. A couple mates who ride B with me and are a little stronger finished in the top 10 and 20 of C. I know a couple other guys who race local A grade, and go up hills better than I (say 2 minutes on a 30 minute climb) and they finished inside top 15 of B grade. The top 5 of C grade, were local A grade quality definitely. They would of finished top 10 in B grade.

The rough rule is because its open to drop a grade. But obviously this is widely subjective and some guys go up the climbs better. Most people can hang on in the flatter bits, but it just breaks apart on the climb.

Looking at strava, I did 1:28 on mt hotham, roughly 8-10 minutes behind the winners of b and c grade.

If you race c/d you'd probably survive to the climbs if you are smart. If you want to get in the mix of things though, you will need a fair bit more. If you know any of the climbs in canberra I could give you some reference points on times to compare

Ah cool, well I did a pb on honeysuckle 2 weeks back, went high 26. A couple guys went a minute faster up the climb, they finished top 20 in C grade on the weekend. A friend did 23ish in A grade, and he came top 20 in B grade at bright. Same guy does about 9 minutes up blackie. Its definitely a strong field. With having to qualify next year it'll be even more so I think.

ro. wrote:Ah cool, well I did a pb on honeysuckle 2 weeks back, went high 26. A couple guys went a minute faster up the climb, they finished top 20 in C grade on the weekend. A friend did 23ish in A grade, and he came top 20 in B grade at bright. Same guy does about 9 minutes up blackie. Its definitely a strong field. With having to qualify next year it'll be even more so I think.